Six Best Firsts of Indian Cinema

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Indian Cinema hits a century this 3rd . It’s more than a celebration for film lovers and IQlik Movies rewinds decades to let you know the six firsts of Indian Cinema.

1. First full length film

The first full length film was Raja Harischandra, which happens to be India’s and Phalke’s first film. The film was released on May 3rd,1913, which makes it exactly 100 years old. The film was first shown on at Mumbai's Coronation Cinema, Girgaon, which was widely acknowledged and appreciated.

2. The first film that had actresses

The first Indian film that had women acting on Indian screen for the first time was Mohini Bhasmasur. It was released in the same year as Raja Harischandra, in 1913, directed by Phalke. In Raja Harischandra men played female roles wearing a disguise.

3. First film to face a ban

This film Bhakta Vidur, directed by Kanjibhai Rathod was released in 1921, just after the Rowlatt Act was passed. Vidura, the protagonist in this mythological film indirectly portrayed Gandhi and his personality. Many contemporary political events of India were shown as reference in the film, which led to its ban in Madras and Karachi.

4. First film to have a lip-lock

In the film Marthanda Varma, actor AVP Menon and actress Padmini had an intimate kiss in this Malayalam silent classic, which was released in 1933. The first Hindi film kiss was in Karma (1933) between Devika Rani and Himanshu Rai, which was released a little later than Marthanda Varma.

5. First international award

Chetan Anand's film Neecha Nagar won the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film at Cannes. It was released in 1946, which was based on a Hindi story, written by Hayatulla Ansari, which in turn was inspired by Russian writer Maxim Gorky's Lower Depths.

6. First Indian color film

Kisan Kanya (1937), was the first Indian color film to be made entirely in India (the earlier Sairandhri (1933) was processed and printed in Germany). The film showcased on the plight of poor farmers, which was based on a novel by Saadat Hasan Manto.